The government of Botswana is once again clutching at straws in an attempt to explain another poaching incident at what is supposed to be a safe haven for endangered rhinoceroses.
Information gathered by Sunday Standard indicates that seven rhinos were killed and dehorned by poachers at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary just before the Easter Holidays.
According to sources, the dehorned rhino carcasses were only discovered days later, with security officers only alerted by vultures. Security at the Sanctuary has been called into question since as few as 10 Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldiers are said to be on duty at any given time, with four horses, covering 8,585 hectares of the Kalahari Sandveld. “Security for the sanctuary is lacking,” a source told Sunday Standard.
For the past few years, the government has been cagey about cases of rhino poaching, choosing to respond to leaks from conservationists and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) game rangers instead. In their latest response to the killings, the government would not even mention the word “poaching.”
“The Ministry of Environment and Tourism through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) wishes to inform the public of a rhino shooting incident that occurred at Khama Rhino Sanctuary recently. The shooting involved four rhinos, two of which died due to injuries while the other two (2) are recovering.” The statement also claims the rhinos were found with their horns intact, something that has been denied by sources within the Sanctuary.
“Investigation on to the matter is ongoing. The Ministry is working with other Law Enforcement Agencies to establish motives behind these shootings so that appropriate actions are taken against perpetrators.” The initial statement had said the government would investigate the “cause of death” despite confirming there was a shooting.
Attempts to get clarity from the DWNP director Dr. Kabelo Senyatso were not successful as he sought clarification for questions this publication deemed uncomplicated and easy to comprehend.
Sunday Standard had wanted to know: how many of the killed rhinos were females, and were they pregnant? When did the incident occur? Who discovered the carcasses? Did the poachers make away with the horns? What could have resulted in the security lapse, if any, and how did the poachers manage to evade security? Are there any arrests regarding this incident, and if so, how many people have been arrested?
Former President Ian Khama took to his social media accounts to condemn the killings. “The ongoing slaughter of some of the country’s, and indeed the world’s most iconic species, the rhino, faces extinction due to the indifference by the current Botswana regime for their protection and the conservation of all wildlife,” Khama wrote.
“It is unprecedented in the history of rhino conservation in Botswana that this species has been targeted in this manner. They have been almost wiped out in the wild, and now for the first time ever, they are being wiped out in protected sanctuaries. The reasons are obvious. At best, incompetence and negligence, at worst, complicity driven by corruption. The evidence points to an abundance of both scenarios.”
In response to the accusations, President Mokgweetsi Masisi stopped short of accusing his estranged predecessor, Khama, of being behind the poaching. “Every time there is a rhino poaching incident, he [Khama] gets the information before we do. Even pictures are taken at the scene, and he gets them before we do,” President Masis Masisi told the media last Thursday.
The fight against rhino poaching has, since 2018, been overshadowed by political posturing. It has since become a source of publicity war between President Masisi and his predecessor (and staunch conservationist) Ian Khama.
Poaching rose by more than 100 percent since Khama left office in April 2018, raising questions about his successor’s commitment to wildlife conservation. Masisi’s disarmament of the DWNP’s anti-poaching unit in 2018 was widely seen as the reason behind the sudden rise in poaching incidences. Over 100 rhinos were killed and dehorned in the two years since he took office in 2018 as compared to the one rhino killed in the preceding two years of Khama’s administration.
Some conservation reports have also condemned the Botswana government’s anti-rhino poaching efforts. One document ‘The Rise of Rhinoceros Poaching in Botswana’ accused Botswana of being reluctant to work with other governments and civil society to address poaching. It said allegations of corruption have further called into question Botswana’s ability to protect its rhino population from poaching and illegal trade. DWNP director Dr. Senyatso however called the document inaccurate and misleading. “This is a misguided and misinformed position,” Senyatso told this publication recently. “Botswana’s law enforcement agencies, under the ambits on the National Anti-poaching Strategy (NAPS), have a myriad of pro-active approaches, including intelligence-led strategic, operational and tactical interventions,” he said.
